Beneficiaries of gov’t cash assistance to be hired as tourism workers

Resident of Tacloban City. CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON

MANILA, Philippines – Beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer program in the Bicol region are to be hired as tourist guides and facility caretakers under a project funded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Interior and Local Government next year.

The project, called “Trabahong Turismo,” aims to provide a sustainable source of income for the beneficiaries.

The three government agencies signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the implementation of the project.

The DSWD’s Field Office V will identify the beneficiaries of the program who will then undergo DOT training courses on multi-lingual tour guiding, frontline services, river guiding, housekeeping, tourism awareness, and mountain guiding.

“We want the beneficiaries to become self-reliant,” Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman said.

Since the Bicol region is one of the top tourist destinations in the country, it opens up an opportunity for poor families to earn, she said.

Among the well-known tourist destinations in the region are Donsol, Sorsogon, for butanding or whale shark-watching;  Mayon Volcano in Albay; and the Camarines Sur Watersports Complex  in Naga City.

“We will continue to tap other partner-agencies and the private sector as well to create more livelihood opportunities for our disadvantaged people,” Soliman said.

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